At a GlanceApple's 2014 iPhone is expected to debut on September 9. It will include a larger, redesigned form factor with 4.7" and 5.5" diagonal screens. The 4.7" model will be launch first around September, with the 5.5" model following later.

It was a huge night for Breaking Bad at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards Monday. The final season of Vince Gilligan's acclaimed series was nearly unstoppable in the drama categories, winning for best series, plus wins for Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn - and for Moira Walley-Beckett for her script to the phenomenal "Ozymandias."

It's not that Hollywood can't make great movies -- but all the talent and energy is migrating to HBO and Netflix

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And AMC, Wingman.

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As AMC’s TV drama Breaking Bad took over the water-cooler conversation in 2013, and television critics dominated Twitter in a way that no movie debaters did, it served to reinforce the fact that film’s glory days are over.

What personal fitness trackers like Jawbone tell us about earthquakes, public health — and just about anything else...

On its face, Jawbone’s newly released chart on sleep patterns during Sunday’s California earthquake is an interesting glimpse into the aftermath of a natural disaster.

On another level, it’s evidence of a far more fascinating phenomena: As so-called personal fitness trackers like Jawbone’s UP become more ubiquitous, they can be used to track public events on an unprecedented scale.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Dollar General said it’s “confident it can quickly and effectively address any potential antitrust issues” and that that it is prepared to divest up to 700 stores for that purpose. And the all-important definition of the companies’ market arguably could extend far beyond the dollar store segment, since most of its merchandise also is sold in grocery stores,

big box stores and online.

But that makes it all the more surprising that the protections offered to Family Dollar in the antitrust area aren’t strong.

A strong antitrust package by a bidder trying to break up another pending deal usually contains one of two provisions.

Dollar General Corp.DG +0.02%’s $78.50 per share bid will get the attention of the Family Dollar Stores Inc.FDO -0.15% board. With a cash price of roughly 5% more than Dollar Tree Inc.DLTR -1.69%’s pending cash and stock merger with Family Dollar, Dollar General’s bid seems to be ahead of Dollar Tree’s offer in terms of value.

Dollar General’s bid, however, offers Family Dollar few protections if antitrust regulators try to block it, leaving Family Dollar vulnerable to being left with no deal at all.

In a scene that’s grown too familiar in many households, parents and children sit together but with all of them buried in their own screens, whether on smartphones, tablets or TV sets.

Hoping to bring everyone back together in front of a single screen, Fuhu unveiled giant 20-inch and 24-inch tablets on Tuesday that the company said will extend its line of educational apps and tablets to group settings.

“The technology right now, it’s isolating,” said Fuhu founder and president Robb Fujioka. “We’re trying to find a product that enhances collaboration and socialization.”

Fuhu sold 1.5 million of the Android-powered devices last year, generating $200 million in sales. The goal is to sell 300,000 to 500,000 of the larger tablets in the coming months. Fujioka said there’s a market for the Big Tab because about 20% to 25% of the nearly 200 million tablets sold worldwide in 2013 were purchased by parents who wanted a “family tablet” but ended up with something that didn’t live up to its billing.

It has come to our attention that Samsung is developing an Ultrasonic Cover, which is targeted towards people with vision-related disabilities, for the Galaxy Note 4.

According to our sources, the cover consists of an ultrasonic sensor which detects nearby objects in front of the person and provides feedback, appropriately. Users will also be able to change the range of ultrasonic signals and choose between three levels: short, middle and long. However, as the user increases the range of ultrasonic signals, the width of the area covered by the ultrasonic sensor will get narrower.

We were able to obtain exact description of the accessory, thanks to our insider, from a Note 4 prototype.

“The Product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Friday, August 15, 2014

For years now, analysts have suggested that the Coca-Cola Company acquire Monster Beverage, the energy drink company.

Access to the fast-growing market for the highly caffeinated beverages would help Coca-Cola offset the slowing growth of soda sales and connect with a younger generation of consumers, they said. Two years ago, the companies almost struck a deal, but could not agree on terms.

Now, Coca-Cola has finally made its move. On Thursday, it announced that it had acquired a 16.7 percent stake in Monster for $2.15 billion.

The deal unites the biggest soda maker in the world with the largest energy drink brand in the United States.“It’s a positive and smart move by both companies,” said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest. “It will strengthen Coke and the Coke system, and the Coke system will strengthen Monster.”

Chipotle (CMG) has been dishing up millions of burritos, with same-store sales soaring 17.3 percent in the second quarter. Such results are an impressive feat in the restaurant business, and the chain says only a small share—2.5 percentage points—came from the much-loathed price hike that started rolling out in late April. (Menu prices went up by 6.5 percent, on average.)

The remaining 14.8 percentage points? Chipotle executives say the spread of pure burrito love increased the chain’s number of transactions.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The news of his death sent shock waves through Hollywood and the nation, and prompted an outpouring of grieving tweets and statements from everyone from the president of the United States to the Sesame Street gang.

"Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between," President Obama said in a statement. "But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most – from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets.

The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin's family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams."

About Me

I started in computing selling the TRS-80 many years ago in the early 80's and got hooked when I bought my own Coco (Color Computer). I've had a computer ever since.
I write short SF stories and Linux/OpenSource articles. I'm on Twitter as: http://twitter.com/ErnieMLopez/